Travis Hafner was originally expected to miss four to six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on May 31. It sounds like he’ll be able to come pretty close to meeting the low end of that timetable.

Hafner began a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus last night and went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. He’s expected to continue getting at-bats in the minors through the weekend, but Indians manager Manny Acta told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com this afternoon that it’s “realistic” he’ll rejoin the team for Monday’s game against the Angels.

Hafner, 35, was hitting .242/.380/.439 with six homers, 23 RBI and an .819 OPS in 166 plate appearances prior to the surgery. The Indians have relied on multiple players to fill the DH spot during his absence.